


In the garden

by Mar_sometimes_writes



Series: A mother's love [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Azula (Avatar) - freedom, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Protective Azula (Avatar), Ursa (Avatar) - Freedom, Ursa (Avatar) is a Good Parent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:27:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28379232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mar_sometimes_writes/pseuds/Mar_sometimes_writes
Summary: “Am I a monster, Mother?”The question, like usual with children, came out of nowhere. However, Ursa thought this one in particular wasn’t just an innocent question, even more considering that this wasAzula.“Azula,” she began, making sure to use the tone learned by years of discipline. “You arenota monster.”Azula didn't look convinced.“You aren’t a monster. You’re my little dragon.”_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._Can be read as a one-shot
Relationships: Azula & Ursa (Avatar)
Series: A mother's love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958287
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	In the garden

In the royal gardens, close to the turtle ducks’ pond, Ursa was simply meditating on the bench. Instead of the traditional candle for firebenders, she always preferred to meditate under direct sunlight, the servants and guards were used to her unorthodox tendencies, choosing to stay close enough so that she knew of their presence but far enough to not disturb her. 

Ursa, no matter what in the past she did, was a mother first now, firebender second. It didn’t surprise her the little steps that echoed in the garden. What did surprise her, however, was that the little ducks very pointedly did _not_ get close to the tiny figure coming nearer, causing a small, irritated exhale to be heard. 

_Azula?_ , she thought. It was rather rare for her to talk to her mother during the day, nighttime, however, was different. That’s the only time her daughter seems to act her age. 

Something about this situation wasn’t the norm, this wasn’t an action she would expect from her child. Knowing Azula, it made her choose to act as if she wasn’t aware of her daughter’s presence, it was better to let her make the first move. Letting herself be observed, as Azula lasted more than the usual finding the precise words she needed. 

“Am I a monster, Mother?” 

The question, like usual with children, came out of nowhere. However, Ursa thought this one in particular wasn’t just an innocent question, even more considering that this was _Azula._

Truly, motherhood had taught her many things, one of them was to never be surprised with what her children asked. Even with her years of practice, Azula’s question was particularly worrying. 

_Who made her daughter think such things? She will show them, you don’t mess with a dragon’s hoard._

“Why would you think so?” Ursa wasn’t sure what to expect, but she knew that she didn’t like how Azula’s eyes refused met her own, even less how both of her ring and little fingers shook ever so slightly.

“I don’t care about the stupid turtle ducks or about all those weak peasants! I couldn’t care less if animals died, or if people get hurt, and Uncle said it’s our duty as royalty to take care of them, that the wellbeing of every Fire Nation life is our responsibility... Am I not meant to be royalty? Has Agni chosen wrongly with me?” 

_Oh, this? She will have some words with General Iroh, how_ dare _he make her daughter question herself; this is unacceptable-_ Breathe Ursa, control your temper, console Azula first, kill a General later. 

“Azula, you aren’t a monster-” 

“You’re only saying that because you’re my mother, you are not _supposed_ to be scared of me,” came the hasty reply. “But the rest of the Fire Nation aren’t my family, those people will think that I’m a monster!” 

_Breathe, Ursa. Thank Agni that Azula didn’t inherit your temper or this would become a daily disaster._

Stopping her pretension of aloofness, she grabbed the child’s hands. Now the shaking was more noticeable, but she made sure Azula didn’t see her own state. As long as she’s unaware of how out of control she is, the easier it will be to soothe her. 

“Azula,” she began, making sure to use the tone learned by years of discipline. “You are _not_ a monster” 

Azula didn’t look convinced enough, her chin moving up in defiance, in an attempt to prove her point, but she must have seen something in Ursa’s face. Azula’s face quickly refused to meet her mother’s eyes again. 

“I am not like Zuzu,” it wasn’t quite a whisper, but the quiet tone screamed an uncharacteristic unsureness. “I’m not like Lu Ten, or even like General Iroh _. They_ care, I … do not” 

“You aren’t a monster. You’re my little dragon” 

Her brows furrowed, clearly looking at Ursa’s face in search of stupidity. 

“Aren’t dragons monsters?” 

Ursa, with years of experience, made sure to not show any reaction.

_At least she doesn’t sound so quiet anymore._

“Do you know why your Great-Grandfather sent to hunt all dragons? It was because those dragons rebelled against the Fire Lord Sozin’s command to help in the War.” 

“What, am I a traitor then?” her eyes narrowed; the exhale that escaped her mouth betrayed that the mere notion annoyed her. 

Ursa hid her wince; _words are so difficult_. 

“Of course not,” her hand cradled Azula’s check, with a combination of her soft hands and a whisper of her natural strength, making sure her daughter’s eyes were looking at her own. “Would you let anyone harm Zuko?” 

“He’s a dumb-dumb,” came a hesitant answer, only her little finger of her left hand shook now. Ursa suppressed a sigh. 

“Azula, would you let anyone other than yourself harm your brother?” 

“... No, only _I_ am allowed to hurt him” 

“Would you let anyone harm Lu Ten?” 

“No...” 

“Would you let anyone harm the rest of your family?” 

“No!” 

“Then you aren’t a monster. You’re a dragon, you care about those that truly matter to you, no one more, and more importantly, _no one less_.” 

Ursa made sure her hold on her daughter was less firm now, made it clear that she could escape from her mother’s ministrations if she so wished to do. 

Azula’s face slowly but surely came back to her usual calmness, but the calculating eyes were still lost in her own mind. 

“Does being a dragon make me a bad princess?” 

_No, but_ _Azulon_ _would kill you if he knew._ Honesty worked best with Azula, well, more like lying didn’t work with her. 

Ursa’s hands were sluggishly leaving Azula’s body, working as a thoughtless caress. 

“It doesn’t make being a _Crown_ Princess easier, but you aren’t that either,” She settled as an answer. “You are a Princess, yes, but you are meant to _protect_ the Crown Line, your responsibilities as royalty come second.” 

Azula was now looking at her, expecting an explanation, almost as if her words were an impossible puzzle to solve.

“You’re a dragon, you protect what’s yours, and as a Princess your duty is to protect the Crown Line. And that’s how _you_ protect the country, Azula. You will protect those who are making sure every Fire Nation life is protected.” 

Azula seemed to have understood, her astute eyes gradually coming to focus. Then, she tilted her head slightly to one side, another question clear on her mouth. 

“Is Zuzu a dragon then?” 

_He certainty acts like one._

“He is different from you, I believe- no, I _know_ that he considers the Fire Nation as his people.” 

“What a terrible dragon he is, I’m stronger than him and I’ve barely started practicing my firebending!” 

“You’re more skilled than him,” Ursa answered neutrally, as if discussing the weather, it’s a well-known fact that the young Princess is quite skilled for her age, but in terms of strength, stubbornness and patience work best together. Zuko is definitely stubborn, and patience comes with experience. _Too many new ideas and people_ _will suspect something._ “But it’s impossible to protect physically so many people at once, his protection is more like Lu Ten’s, Zuko makes sure life is as safe as possible” 

“Then _he_ is a bad Prince” as she suspected, came the obvious smug reply. Azula’s lips quickly forming an arrogant smirk. 

“No, he isn’t,” Ursa made sure her daughter watched her face again, _she must understand this, or the Fire Nation is lost._ “He is helping the Crown Line by easing their load. The Crown Line’s responsibilities don’t just stay in War Rooms, they make sure the country is running smoothly. That includes the economy, the health regulations, the Nobles’ founding, the Fire Nation culture, and _even more_ . No matter how great a country is, if they cannot function as autonomous and fluently as possible, then they won’t _ever_ win a war.” 

_That sounded a bit too rebellious, but since I’ve already began..._

Clearly, Azula didn’t expect that to be her answer, her eyes widen and lips parted marginally. Ursa slowly retracted her hands again, turning slightly to observe the pond in front of her. 

_By Agni, I must reprimand her more often if this is how she reacts to being wrong._

“Azula, Fire Lord Azulon hasn’t been in a battlefield in decades. Does that make him bad at protecting our country? Does that make him weak?” Ursa asked, in what she hoped was a quiet enough manner, but she made sure a strong as steel resolution was noticeable. 

“Of course not!” 

“General Iroh and Prince Ozai are the ones that go to the battlefields, that’s how they protect the Fire Nation. Your brother and Lu Ten prefer to protect the country inside of it. Both ways are _essential_ to any Nation, even more to one so populated as ours.” 

“But Zuzu is _weak_ , that’s how things _are._ ” 

_No, he’s_ _normal_ _compared to_ you _, that’s the struggle._

“Would you say that knowing how to run a nation, knowing leadership, knowing our culture, knowing how to convince others to do things for you, connecting to our people; are all those skills are weak?” 

She was met with silence; her daughter was clearly thinking of a good answer. 

“They are useful, but...” Azula said, after carefully considering her words. Ursa couldn’t silence the sigh that escaped from her mouth even if she tried. 

“Dear, that’s what the Fire Lord _does_ on a daily basis. A Fire Lord doesn’t fight personally, they don't need to, they have others there to fight _for_ them.” 

Sometimes, Ursa was glad about her nation’s emphasis on respecting the Fire Lord. She is running out of ideas on how to make sure Azula understands her point, and a General is still drinking tea as peacefully as he can... 

_Breathe first,_ talk _with General Iroh later._

Apparently, her strategy worked well enough. Azula clearly doesn't value diplomacy more than strength, but she stayed and _listened,_ at least she is considering it. 

No further arguments began, Azula had enough unruly thoughts for a day. Silence came back to the garden, Agni’s light weakening and setting, and the turtle ducks contented themselves with a slow but peaceful swim. Ursa herself was satisfied with just absorbing what was left of the sun, and the white noise of nature. 

“I don’t want to be a Fire Lord then,” escaped a careful whisper, a quiet realization more meaningful than any other. “I thought that the Fire Lord was the strongest person alive, but if he has to take care of so many boring things daily then... Then I’ll make sure General Iroh becomes the Fire Lord.” 

_Does she realize she is choosing her uncle over her father? Should I even tell her what that means? Perhaps not, she is just seven, we have time._

“How will you do that?” 

Silence controlled the garden once more, Ursa kneeled and beckoned a few turtle ducks to her, trying to busy herself as she waited for what she knew would change her daughter’s fate. Appearing as casual as possible, while planting seeds of dedication and loyalty to the Fire Nation as an entity, sharing the space inside Azula’s mind with the old weeds left by Ozai. 

_It’s a question of overcoming, I wonder how the garden will look in a few years..._

“I will become the strongest, and I will protect the Crown Line,” Azula too kneeled, but she chose to turn herself to the sun. Agni in front of her, as if guiding her train of thought. “General Iroh will be leaving soon but Lu Ten will stay for a while longer, I will start by protecting him.” 

Sometimes, Ursa wondered how her children were shining so brightly while she felt her life burn away trapped in the palace. Being left here, as if she was another souvenir of war won by her husband. However, she learnt that her children came first, her own life second. Her little hatchlings will be her legacy. 

_She will be dammed if she lets_ _Ozai_ _ruin even more of her life._

“That’s a wise choice, Princess Azula” 

Her daughter turned her bronze eyes to Ursa’s vibrant golden ones, and said with resolution that spoke of a choice made. 

“I am not a princess, Mother. I am dragon.” 

Ursa couldn’t stop her smile even if she tried. 

“Very well, my little dragon,” she too turned to see the other. Becoming aware of how the sunset illuminated her daughter’s back, almost as if Agni himself was proud of her words. 

_She will need more than just her_ _firebending_ _if she wants to protect anyone, no matter how skilled she is, but for now... It has been enough for a day._

“I don’t have to tell you to be careful with your words in front of others, do I?”

“Of course not, Mother. I’m not Zuzu,” and with that said she went away. 

All of their conversations ended like this. Azula is smart enough to realize this means her mother’s opinions are different from others. 

Different is dangerous, agreeing to it even more so. 

Yet Azula seems to value her opinions more, as of late. 

She knows why, of course, to have a dragon’s respect you have to _earn_ it. 

Ursa smiled with far too many teeth, glad to be alone once again. 

_Would you look at that, she too has_ _inherited_ _her mother’s flair for the dramatic._

_It was truly a beautiful day of a truly beautiful year._

She has never been gladder of Fire Lord Azulon’s “request” to send Ozai to command some troops in the Earth Kingdom. 

Now, where could that old General possibly be? 

**Author's Note:**

> No, this AU is not dead. I have spent way too much time on it for that, I am thinking it would be best if I have more of it written before publishing it, though.  
> Also, exams, depression, life. 
> 
> This was actually the way this whole AU was born, actually. I just wanted Ursa being a better parent to Azula, and thus this was born. Even if I don't end the main story, I wanted to have this out, it was the start of everything so I'm rather fond of it. At the time I had read Embers from Vathara recently and it shows.
> 
> Anyway, leave a comment please! I never knew how much I loved them until I got them, they are the fire to my motivation.
> 
> Thanks for reading and take care!


End file.
